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Guns For Sale - Dreyse Zundnadelgewehr -- RARE-Prussian Needle GUN

Make: Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr
Model: Prussian Model 1841
Serial Number is "104"
Year of Manufacture: 1841 to 1878
Caliber: .61 acorn-shaped round, paper cartridge w/ black powder and percussion cap.
Mechanics, fully functioning
Action Type: Needle fire, bolt action rifle.
Metal Finish, plum blue on barrel and patina brown on the receiver, brass is a mellow uncleaned mustard color.
Markings: There is a "104" on the left side of the barrel flat just ahead of the receiver. The bolt is also marked ser 104. Very few orher markings can be found
Barrel Length: 35.8"
Sights / Optics: The gun is mounted with a multi leaf and fixed post rear sight, fixed front sight.
Condition: The stock( wood. The wood appears to have a coat of varnish and evidence of light sanding at sometime in the past. This rifle has been in my possesion for many years.There is no cleaning rod or front barrel band, otherwise all complete including a fully functioning bolt with all internal parts.
The brass mountings- triggerguard and barrel bands are in good condition. All screws are very good, bore is very good, perhaps even bright with strong lands and grooves and will clean even better.
This is the first mass-produced needle gun that was invented by the German gunsmith Johann Nikolaus Von Dreyse, who, beginning in 1824, had conducted multiple experiments, and in 1836 produced the first viable breech loading gun, using a complete cartridge. The early Dreyse needle guns were smooth-bore. Later Dreyse guns adopted by the Prussian army were rifled using self-contained combustible cartridges holding oblong lead balls held in a paper-mache "sabot". By 1836, Dreyse's design was essentially complete. Presenting it to the Prussian Army, it was adopted in 1841 as the Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr (Prussian Model 1841). The first practical breech-loading, bolt action military rifle, the Needle Gun, as it became known, revolutionized rifle design and led to the standardization of cartridge ammunition. The Dreyse rifle became widely used during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 when it played a decisive role at theBattle of Sadowa.
Operational Use: Entering service in 1841, the Needle Gun gradually became the standard service rifle of the Prussian Army and many other German states. Dreyse also offered the Needle Gun to the French, who after testing the weapon declined to purchase it in large quantities citing the weakness of the firing pin and a loss of breech-pressure after repeated firing. This latter issue led to a loss in muzzle velocity and range. First used by the Prussians during the 1849 May Uprising in Dresden, the weapon received its first true baptism by fire during the Second Schleswig War in 1864. In 1866, the Needle Gun showed its superiority to muzzle-loading rifles during the Austro-Prussian War. In battle, Prussian troops were able to achieve a 5-to-1 superiority in rate of fire to their Austrian enemies due to the Needle Gun's loading mechanism. The Needle Gun also allowed Prussian soldiers to easily reload from a concealed, prone position while the Austrians were forced to stand to reload their muzzle-loaders. This technological superiority greatly contributed to the swift Prussian victory in the conflict. (http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/smallarms/p/needlegun.htm) This is a historically significant firearm rarely encountered here in the U.S. This gun should appeal to all military collectors as one of the first cartridge military firearms produced.
I have been collecting for nearly 55 years and it is time to let some of my treasures go.. THIS IS A VERY RARE GUN...good luck
Ship direct to lower 48 for $45.00 insured///

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